Animals inspire my life and my art (http://sarahhauser.neoimages.net). This blog is about my journey with animals, and especially my connection to them through my work with them as a Tellington TTouch Practitioner for Companion Animals and Reiki Master with special certification in Animal Reiki. I also incorporate Debono Moves, Bach Flower remedies and Chakra Healing and into my practice. Thank you to all the animals and people who continually teach me as I continue this journey.

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Reiki with Deuce - Open Your Heart to Hear What the Animal Has to Say

I have been working with Deuce for some months now. He has arthritis which is progressing, but Reiki and TTouch helps to put him more at ease, and can help his body to be in better balance.
Today he was laying in one of his favorite spots, an easy chair in the living room. I had recommended that his person, Alice, put something of intermediate height near this chair and other places he likes to go that may be a bit of a challenge for him to jump to now. So now there is a lovely step stool by the chair - perfect, as it is very stable and the surface is rough so he can get traction and not slip.
Most of the time, he was laying on his right side so that the left side was exposed to me, which makes sense, as it is the front left leg which is giving him trouble at this point. He is now generally not using that leg when going up stairs.
I started out with my hands a foot or so away from his body, with my arms sort of forming a circle around him. I pictured a sphere of light encompassing him and soothing him. One hand was near his neck, the other near his back end. I told him he need only take as much or as little energy as he wanted.
The first part of the session, I did what in Reiki is called a healing attunement. In my Reiki master training, I was taught how to do this process for people, and I have recently been adjusting this process so that it will work well with animals. It is different when I do it with an animal than it is with a person, as a lot of it I accomplish through visualization and intention, rather than the version for humans which involves more physical contact. It brings in high frequency healing energy that is more intense than a regular Reiki treatment, and can be a very good addition to a Reiki treatment to assist in very deep healing.
As the session progressed, he shifted his body every so often so that my hands would be in a different place. Each time my hands changed place, I would imagine any blockages disappearing, a feeling of opening. I felt more and more energy and heat from my hands as time went on.
I think it is very important to be open and receptive to whatever you might hear from or feel from the animal, to open your heart, let go of your own expectations and let these feelings in. The animals very often will show me where they need my hands to be by shifting and changing position until you are where the energy is most beneficial for them. It is possible to feel this, it feels as if you are plugging into a socket, and the energy flow can become very strong when you arrive at these places on their body where they want your hands to be the most.

During a Reiki session, I often feel the animal and I traveling together into a very dreamlike state, where I feel like we are inside of a bubble of energy and light, which is warm and very soft. And this is where we went today for much of the session, though at times we would come up more to the surface and feel present in the room and in the apartment.

In the earlier parts of the session, I often had one hand around his shoulder area, sending him energy there, which will help to ease whatever pain or discomfort may be happening in that area. The other hand was near the base of his spine. I kept feeling the connection from his upper spine to the lower spine, feeling the energy going from the upper back down to the base of the spine. I was feeling a lot of energy particularly in the upper back at this point, especially as that is the area where he is having difficulty.
Towards the end of the session, Deuce put both of his back paws on one of my hands, as if he was asking for the energy there. This makes sense, as it will help him to really feel his feet, and he will need his back legs more now that the front ones are starting to be more compromised. His front paws do need the energy even more, of course, but at this point he had them kind of curled up - so I will have to focus on that next session!
At any rate, at this point in the session he moved into a position which helped to really focus on the connection and power in his back legs. My left hand had both back paws touching it, and at times I would do little TTouches on one paw and then the other, and put my hand around one paw (about an inch away) and then the other. My other hand was on his pelvic area. So I really felt the energy going all the way down from his hips to his feet, making that connection there. My right hand felt nearly as though it was inside body on his lower back, and I felt the energy coming down to his paws.
After we finished, I watched him walk and he was walking quite well on a flat surface. The stairs are more of a challenge, but hopefully all of this connecting energy will help him to be at his best, given his situation.

Near the end of the session, his "brother" Gruffy settled down a ways away, as he often does, taking in some of the energy.
Look forward to seeing you soon, Deuce and of course you too, Gruffy!!